Tea bag server and squeezer



P 1967 T. s. GORTON, JR 3,342,518

TEA BAG SERVER AND SQUEEZER Original Filed July 2, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v INVENTOR. T/zomas Gorfon Jr.

BY fMM ATTORNEY Sept. 19, 1967 T. s. GORTON, JR 3,342,518

TEA BAG SERVER AND SQUEEZER Original Filed July 2, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet Z INVENTOR Thomas 5. Gorfon Jr.

JMM

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,342,518 TEA BAG SERVER AND SQUEEZER Thomas S. Gorton, Jr., 82 Larchwood Drive,

Cambridge, Mass. 02138 Continuation of application Ser. No. 292,237, July 2, 1963. This application Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 506,442

7 Claims. (Cl. 294-16) This application is a continuation of my copending application, Serial No. 292,237, filed July 2, 1963, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a tea bag server.

The invention has for an object to provide a novel and improved tea bag server of rigid material adapted to support a conventional tea bag in a manner such as to provide, in effect, a rigid handle therefor whereby the tea bag may be manipulated in the manner of a spoon to effect the desired infusion of the tea when immersed in water.

With this general object in view and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the tea bag server as hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a tea bag server embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of a portion of the server shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front elevation of a modified form of tea bag server embodying the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of the tea bag server shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a rear view of a portion of the server shown in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of the present tea bag server supporting a tea bag and immersed in a cup of hot water.

In general the present invention contemplates a novel tea bag server of rigid material having a supporting portion for holding a conventional tea bag and a handle portion to which the flexible handle of the tea bag may 'be secured whereby the bag may be immersed in hot water and manipulated by the rigid handle of the holder in the manner of a spoon to effect eflicient infusion of the tea.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS 1 and 2, in general 10 represents the present tea bag server adapted to support a conventional pillow or envelope type tea bag 12 having a flexible handle comprising a string 14 and a tag 16. The server 10 may comprise a rigid plastic material and is provided with a bag supporting portion 18, generally spoon-shaped to plan, and an elongated handle portion 20. The bag supporting portion 18 comprises two spaced flat wall portions 22, 24 providing an elongated space or groove 26 in which the tea bag is supported. The elongated groove 26 is open at its outer end and terminates at the closed end 27 which extends a short distance beyond the holding portion 18 and into the handle portion 20. One of the flat walls, 22, is provided with an elongated slot 25, and in operation the user, holding the bag by the flexible handle 14, places a portion thereof into the end of the slot 25, and by pulling upwardly and longitudinally of the server the attached edge of the bag is received between the walls 22, 24. By

continuing the pull on the string 14, the bag is pulled further into the groove 26 until the leading edge of the bag comes into engagement with the closed end 27 of the groove. The slot 25 for the flexible handle 14 terminates a short distance beyond the closed end of the groove 27, and the flexible handle may then be guided longitudinally along the server handle 20 and into a V- shaped cutout formed in an enlarged portion 30 of the server handle. The string 14 may then be wound around the handle a few turns to secure the tag end of the string, and the tag 16 may then be released to hang on a relatively short end of the string 14 out of the way as shown.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower wall 24 of the bag supporting portion 18 is relatively shorter than the upper wall 22 so as to form a clearance space for the leading end of the attached bag to be guided into the end of the groove 26. The inner end of the lower wall 24 is reinforced by a ribbed portion 32 of the server handle 20. The upper wall 2 is coextensive with the outside diameter of the server handle 20 as shown. The plastic material of which the server is composed may be of a relatively rigid and high heat-resistant material, such as a polystyrene plastic. However, the flat side walls 22, 24 of the bag supporting portion 18 are relatively thin so as to permit some flexibility and spreading apart of the walls when a tea bag is drawn therebetween. Preferably, the thickness of the groove 26 is such as to snugly receive the bag so that as the bag is being drawn into the groove, some of the air is forced out of the porous bag which is of advantage to permit the bag to sink more readily into the Water.

It will be observed that the server handle portion 20 is tapered upwardly and inwardly from its supporting end to a point adjacent the enlarged portion 30 to provide a relatively narrow throat portion 34. The conventional individual teapot cover is usually provided with a cutout portion in its periphery so as to provide clearance for the tea bag string 14 to extend therethrough when the cover is closed. Thus. when the present server is used in such an individual teapot the throat portion 34 of the server handle is of a sufficiently small diameter to extend through such cutout to permit partial closing of the cover. The remaining portion 36 of the server handle may taper upwardly and outwardly from the cutout portion and terminate in a rounded end portion. It will be seen that the bag supporting portion of the server is of a size such that the central portion of the 'bag is enclosed between the walls 22, 24 of the bag supporting portion, the remainder of the bag extending laterally therefrom as shown.

In order to provide access for the hot water to reach the portions of the bag confined more or less loosely between the wall portions 22, 24, one or both walls may be provided with openings indicated generally at 38. As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, the openings 38 may and preferably will comprise angular slots, one edge 40 of each slot being beveled to assist in guiding the liquid into the openings when the server with its tea bag is moved around in the hot water. As shown in FIG. 1, the angular slots 38 radiate from the center of the supporting portion 18 in parallel groups arranged at an angle of 45 on opposite sides of longitudinal and transverse center lines through the supporting portion. Thus, in practice when the server with its tea bag is manipulated by the user in the manner of a spoon by a stirring or twirling motion, or by moving the server back and forth, sideways, or up and down in the hot Water, the water is guided through the openings into the bag held between the supporting walls 22, 24 to effect efficient infusion of the tea.

The modified form of the tea bag server illustrated in FIGS 6 to 9, and indicated generally at 50, is also provided with a spoon-shaped bag supporting portion 52 and a handle portion 54. In this embodiment of the invention the bag supporting portion 52 is defined by elongated fiat side walls 56, 58 forming an elongated space or groove 60 therebetween the side walls being coextensive with portions of the handle 54 as shown. The side wall 58 extends a short distance beyond the side wall 56 and is provided with an elongated string receiving slot 62 which terminates at 64 in the handle portion a short distance beyond the bag supporting portion. The handle 54 is also provided with a cutout portion 66 for receiving the tag end of the string.

In the modified form of the invention the bag supporting walls 56, 58 are provided with longitudinally extended spaced and staggered runners or rib portions 68, 70, respectively, on the inner faces thereof, as best shown in FIG. 7, for the purpose of gripping opposite sides of the bag to prevent lateral displacement thereof during use. The runners 68, 70 also serve to hold the tea bag straight in the supporting portion with the marginal side edges parallel to the longitudinal extension of the handle. In operation the user may present the flexible handle of the tea bag in the string receiving slot 62 and pull upwardly to draw the attached tea bag between the supporting walls 56, 5S and the staggered rib portions 68, 70 as shown. The tag end of the string may then be extended and wound around the cutout portion 66 to secure the string. It will be understood that there is flexibility in the portions 57, 59 of the handle which extend from the side walls 56, 58, respectively, so that the tea bag is more or less loosely held therebetween for efiicient infusion of the tea while the ribbed portions 68, 70 prevent lateral displacement of the bag. In use, the server with its tea bag may be manipulated in the hot water in the manner of a spoon to effect infusion of the tea.

Another feature of the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 8 resides in the provision of a metal weight 72 molded into one of the side walls, 56, for the purpose of weighting the server and its tea bag to cause it more readily to submerge in the container of hot water and to assist in counteracting any tendency of the loaded server to float.

As shown, the handle is substantially less in width than the walls of the bag supporting member, and the groove 60 splits a substantial portion of the handle into two parts to enable the server to more readily regain and retain its original molded shape after it is subjected to the strain of an expanding tea bag while the server is covered with boiling water. By providing the groove 60 defined by the two parts 57, 59 of the handle, the strain resulting from the flexing of the members 57, 59 as applied to a given area of the handle is reduced.

Another important feature of the extended two-part portion of the server handle lies in the fact that a dry tea bag may be firmly gripped by the bag supporting member and able to readily expand when the server is immersed in boiling water.

The extended two-part section of the handle is sufficiently strong to withstand the strain of the manipulation of the server when in use it is pushed against the bottom of the cup at a 45 angle. The elongated divided section of the handle allows the walls of the bag supporting member to firmly grip the dry tea bag and at the same time to grip it lightly enough to permit the tea bag to expand normally when it is wet.

From the above description it will be seen that the present tea bag server provides a novel and useful tool for holding a tea bag and its flexible handle and provides, in effect, a semi-rigid handle for the tea bag by which the bag may be manipulated in the hot water to effect eflicient infusion of the tea, and the tea bag can be squeezed while submerged in the cup by pushing up and down on the semi-rigid handle when held at a 45 angle, thereby the flexing the handle and the holding portion that contains the tea bag.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A tea bag server for supporting a tea bag for use in preparing tea, and server comprising a member having a grooved bag supporting portion defined by opposed side walls between which the bag is snugly frictionally received and supported, said grooved portion being closed at its upper end and open at the sides and the lower end, and an elongated handle extended from a point medially of and in substantially the same plane as the bag supporting portion, and by which the tea bag may be immersed in water and manipulated in the manner of a spoon to effect infusion of the tea, said inner faces of said side walls being provided with longitudinally extended rib portions arranged to frictionally engage the sides of the bag to prevent lateral displacement of the bag held therebetween.

2. A tea bag server for supporting a tea bag having a flexible handle comprising a string and a tag, said server comprising a plastic member having a bag supporting portion defined by opposed side walls between which the bag is to be received, and an elongated handle portion extended from a point medially of and in substantially the same plane as the bag supporting portion, one of said side walls having an elongated narrow slot into which the string of the tea bag may be presented and pulled longitudinally of the server to draw the bag between the side walls, and means on said server for holding the tag end of the string to retain the tea bag in place between the side walls, at least one of said walls having a plurality of openings therein, said openings being arranged in angular parallel groups radiating from the center of the bag supporting portion to provide access for water when the server is manipulated to infuse the tea.

3. A tea bag server for supporting a tea bag having a flexible handle comprising a string and a tag, said server comprising a plastic member having a bag supporting portion defined by opposed side walls between which the bag is to be received, and an elongated handle portion extended from a point medially of and in substantially the same plane as the bag supporting portion, one of said side walls having an elongated narrow slot into which the string of the tea bag may be presented and pulled longitudinal ly of the server to draw the bag between the side walls, and means on said server for holding the tag end of the string to retain the tea bag in place between the side walls, at least one of said side walls having a plurality of openings therein and at least some of said openings being provided with at least one beveled side wall to provide acess for water and to assist in guiding the water into the tea bag when the server is manipulated in the water.

4. A tea bag server for supporting a fiat tea bag having a flexible handle comprising a string and a tag, said server comprising a semirigid plastic member having a grooved bag supporting portion defined by opposed side walls between which the bag is frictionally supported, said grooved portion being closed at its upper end and open at the sides and at the lower end, and an elongated handle portion extended from the bag supporting portion, one of said side walls having an elongated slot into which the string of the tea bag may be presented and pulled longitudinally of the server to draw the bag between the side walls, and means on said server handle for attaching the tag end of the string, the inner faces of said side walls having longitudinally extended spaced ribs arranged to frictionally engage opposed sides of the tea bag to prevent lateral displacement of a bag held between said walls, the ribs on the inner faces of the side walls being which the bag is frictionally supported, said grooved portion being closed at its upper end and open at the sides and at the lower end, and an elongated handle portion extended from the bag supporting portion, said grooved portion extending upwardly beyond the bag supporting portion and into a portion of said handle, one of said side walls having an elongated narrow slot into which the string of the tea bag may be presented and pulled longitudinally of the server to draw the bag between the side walls, and means on said server handle for attaching the tag end of the string, at least one of said side walls having a plurality of openings therein to provide access for water when the server is manipulated to infuse the tea.

6. A tea bag server for SuppOrting a fiat tea bag having a flexible handle comprising a string and a tag, said server comprising a semi-rigid plastic member having a grooved bag supporting portion defined by opposed side walls between which the bag is frictionally supported, said grooved portion being closed at its upper end and open at the sides and at the lower end, and an elongated handle portion extended from the bag supporting portion, one of said side walls having an elongated slot into which the string of the tea bag may be presented and pulled longitudinally of the server to draw the bag between the side walls, and means on said server handle for attaching the tag end of the string, the inner faces of said side walls having longitudinally extended spaced ribs arranged to frictionally engage opposed side of the tea bag to pre vent lateral displacement of a bag held between said walls.

'7. A tea bag server for supporting a tea bag for use in preparing tea, said server comprising a member having a grooved bag-supporting portion defined by opposed side walls between which the bag is snugly frictionally received and supported, said grooved portion being partially closed at its upper end and open at the sides and lower end, at least one of said side walls provided with a plurality of openings to provide access for the water when using the server, and a handle, the leading edges of the opposed side walls being rounded and beveled to prevent tearing of the tea bag when the bag is drawn into the bag-supporting portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,252,197 1/1918 Thomas 294-33 X 2,602,688 7/1952 Brunk 2 9434 2,708,401 5/1955 Leclerc -234 2,801,873 8/1957 Faughnder 29427 X FOREIGN PATENTS 851,254 10/1960 Great Britain;

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner. G. F. ABRAHAM, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A TEA BAG SERVER FOR SUPPORTING A TEA BAG FOR USE IN PREPARING TEA, AND SERVER COMPRISING A MEMBER HAVING A GROOVED BAG SUPPORTING PORTION DEFINED BY OPPOSED SIDE WALLS BETWEEN WHICH THE BAG SNUGLY FRICTIONALLY RECEIVED AND SUPPORTED, SAID GROOVED PORTION BEING CLOSED AT ITS UPPER END AND OPEN AT THE SIDES AND THE LOWER END, AND AN ELONGATED HANDLE EXTENDED FROM A POINT MEDIALLY OF AND IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME PLANE AS THE BAG SUPPORTING PORTION, AND BY WHICH THE TEA BAG MAY BE IMMERSED IN WATER AND MANIPULATED IN THE MANNER OF A SPOON TO EFFECT INFUSION OF THE TEA, SAID INNER FACES OF SAID SIDE WALLS BEING PROVIDED WITH LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDED RIB PORTIONS ARRANGED TO FRICTIONALLY ENGAGE THE SIDES OF THE BAG TO PREVENT LATERAL DISPLACEMENT OF THE BAG HELD THEREBETWEEN. 